There Was a Darkness in the Air
by Anrheithwyr
Summary: There was a darkness in the air, she could feel it all around her, horribly suffocating. The darkness is coming, and she choked on those words, knowing they were true. The Dark Lord was coming and she could do nothing about it.


_**Written for the 'If You Dare Challenge' by Slytherin Cat, using prompt # 202, darkness is coming. **_

_**Also written for the 'HP Potions Competition' by Black Boxed, using **__**Calming Draught**__** – Write about someone who comforts another person.**_

….

There was a darkness in the air, she could feel it all around her, horribly suffocating. _The darkness is coming, _and she choked on those words, knowing they were true. The Dark Lord, Voldemort, You-Know-Who, was coming and she could do nothing about it. He was on his way, and she could smell death in the air, could hear Death Eaters marching down her street, wands raised high. She could hear screams of their victims, innocent people who fell one by one, taken down viciously. She shuddered, blinking, and the image disappeared from her mind, as Lily turned in the doorway, coming back into the house.

Inside, her husband was laying on the couch, babbling incoherently at their infant son, Harry. She smiled at the ten month old, and came over to sit with them. James put a comforting arm around her, kissing her on the cheek, and she smiled, laying down close to him, her head just under his chin. Harry giggled from where he was sitting on the floor, and reached up to sit in her lap, and Lily scooped him up; the three of them lay together on the couch for several minutes in, not talking, breathing quietly.

"I'm scared," she murmured quietly after a while, and she felt James shift around her. She turned ever so slightly to look at him, staring into his hazel eyes. He seemed full of concern, as he sat up, still holding Lily and Harry in his arms. James leaned over, kissing Lily's cheek again, and squeezed her in an awkward hug that did little to make her feel better. "James, I don't want to die yet. I don't want to lose you or Harry or even Sirius and-" Her voice cracked as she turned her face towards James' chest, Harry wiggling from her grasp to slip to the floor, mumbling nonsense in an annoyed tone. "I just don't want any more funerals!" she sobbed loudly.

"Oh, Lily," James said a comforting voice, rubbing the small of her back. He wrapped his arms even more tightly around her, so that they nearly looked like one person, and he set his head on top of hers, whispering to her. "You'll be fine, Lily. We'll all be fine, don't worry. It's okay, see? You, me, Harry, even Sirius-we'll all be fine. It's going to me good, yeah? I mean, there's no way _Voldemort _is going to win this; you'd never let him."

She sniffled slightly, a small smile playing at her lips. "I was thinking about Marlene….about how we haven't seen her for a while. And what about Lindy and Edgar, and all their children? Dead….everyone we know is dead, the number of people willing to die just keeps dropping. I don't…I don't want Harry to live in this world now, where everyone is afraid of not seeing the end of the day, let alone seeing tomorrow. James, I'm _scared._"

"So am I, Lily." She looked up at him, startled. He hadn't seemed scared these past few months, just annoyed and anxious, cooped up in a house all day, unable to see any of his mates without going through a lengthy process. But, now, taking a good look at him, she saw what she had missed earlier. James looked just as scared as she felt. "I'm really scared, Lils. Every day, every time I go out on a mission, I worry about coming home to an empty home; but, I can't let that control me all the time. And you can't let your fears over take you, Lily. You've got to stay strong for Harry."

"Yeah," she murmured, snuggling into him, feeling his heartbeat. It soothed her, and she felt herself growing drowsy in his arms, thinking, even as her eyelids slipped. _The darkness is coming_. There was a war all around them, even as they hid in house after house. _The darkness is coming_. One day, soon, Lily would stand up against what scared her most, she knew. She knew Voldemort was coming for her, and he'd catch up eventually. But, she didn't have to allow her fear to take over. She could stay strong, stay brave.

_The darkness is coming. _


End file.
